


Elysium

by EmbersSpark



Category: Mass Effect, shakarian - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Blood, F/M, Mass Effect 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:12:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1274509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbersSpark/pseuds/EmbersSpark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Done for a drabble contest I won a ways back.  <br/>Shepard's time finally comes after making her final decision with the Reapers.  Set in the ending of Mass effect 3</p>
            </blockquote>





	Elysium

**Author's Note:**

> Done for a T-Shirt contest on Tumblr. I won! I honestly dont think I did that well on this, but my cut off limit was 1000 words and I made it right on the money!

The battle was finally and miraculously over. After the wash of green the Threat had stopped, all forces falling on the spot. Ending the chaos and the suffering for once and for all. But something was still amiss to the Normandy crew, their fearless leader, the one who had survived a reaper blast and made it into the citadel was nowhere to be seen. They had all expected it of course, knowing that she would give her life in a heartbeat if it meant putting an end to all of this. But still, they watched, and they waited. They tended to the wounded and relocated the dead, taking turns to watch the site for any sight that their leader was returning, climbing the rubble just as she had on the citadel after her first face off with a reaper.

Garrus was on watch when it happened, gazing at the wreckage of the portal to the citadel and the crucible, wondering how long his sanity could hold while waiting for her. Metal shifted somewhere, causing a groan and a scream of scraping metal before a space opened, a humanoid form emerging, staggering barely clothed out of the wreckage. The scope of his rifle had barely trained on her before it was dropped to the ground, his legs pumping as he leaped over obstacles to reach her. Shepard.

His heart clenched as he reached her, soft body falling into his armor with a small noise of what had to be agony going by her appearance. Her normally pale skin was stained deep red, dried blood flaking off under his grasp; her hair was matted in clumps with the same dried fluid, stuck to her face in so many places she didn’t even seem to care. In the Turians opinion, she shouldn’t have too. 

Her legs gave out after so long of standing, the alien’s strength aiding her down into the flat surface of the rubble covered ground. It was then he noticed the change, normally emerald eyes were glowing bright green as she gazed tiredly at him, black marking that could only be contributed to synthetics flared away from her eyes and down her cheeks like intricate brushes of flames, the dull blue glow flowing in a pulse across the black markings.

The marks were scattered across the rest of her body, cutting across her heart and down to her ribs, thighs looking like they had been clawed open and the wounds filled with a seal of technology. He swallowed hard, sub harmonics whirring sadly as he brushed a chunk of hair back from her face.

“Spirits Shepard, what happened?”

“Tried to do the right thing. Had to see you, one last time, make sure you made it.”

“How did you even survive that? You did it though Shepard, you beat the reapers.”

“Good. Good. What abou- Team.”

“Anderson didn’t make it shepard. His body was recovered, but. Everyone else made it. We’ve been looking for you for days.”

“Said goodbyes before the crucible. Good man.”

Her hand shook as he cupped his face, thumb stroking along his scared mandible. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse was slowing when he checked. Before thinking of it he pressed the comm. In his ear, signaling the team.

“I have her. I need a medic now!”

A rattling cough left her body, blood staining pale lips as she shuddered to get in a breath.

“Not going to make it. Wanted, to say good bye.”

“If-If I don’t make it. I’ll still buy you that drink upstairs.”

A tear cut through the blood staining her cheeks, leaving a trail of pale skin behind. In all his years of knowing her, he had never seen a single tear shed. Not over lost soldiers, a bullet wound, anything, yet here she was. Crying for him.

“Stay with me. I know you can do it. Just a little longer and we’ll have medi-gel for you.”

“I’m so tired Garrus.”

“I know. I know.”

A choked sob left him as he gripped the five fingered hand on his cheek, listening for any footsteps in the distance that might give a hope that the love of his miserable fucked up life would make it. Though none rang out, even with his hearing. He screamed into the comm. again, calling for anyone that might be able to save her.

“Come on Shep. Remember what we talked about before you went up. Adopting a baby krogan, maybe we could name it Mordin. Teach it how to sing and talk a mile a minute just like our scientist. Right? I’m sure Wrex would be laughing for years. If we could even get you to settle down planet side, maybe take a break from the stars.”

The light in her eyes was dimming, a tired smile forming as she nodded her head, a raspy laugh leaving her lungs.

“Should be easy. We raised Grunt okay.”

“See, that’s the spirit…You can’t leave me Shepard. You can’t. You’re the only thing I still have worth living in this messed up universe. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

“I’ll never leave you Garrus. Even if- even if I go today, I’ll always be looking out for you…Someone has to watch that back of yours.”

Her eyes looked into his one last time before losing focus, her hand grasping his cheek while the other fumbled for his hand, pressing warm metal into his grasp. Metal dog tags reading her name. Commander Ember Shepard. Alliance Navy.

“Love you. Garrus.”

The team arrived as his commander breathed her last breath, sighing as if going into a deep sleep, eyes closing for their final time, never to open again. Some swore and cursed the heavens; others leaned on each other, tears flowing as the realization that the very thing that brought them together. Gone. He clutched her body to him, sub harmonics wailing as he sobbed into her hair, crying as he rasped.

“Rest Shepard. You’ve earned it.”


End file.
